Polish and shine attract at antique fair

SILVER MAN: Tauranga antique silver dealer Greg Cambie was in New Plymouth this weekend for the annual Antique Fair at Pukekura Raceway.

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Greg Cambie has spent the last 40 years selling old silver.

The Tauranga man was one of a dozen antique dealers in New Plymouth at the weekend offering their wares at the annual Antique Fair at Pukekura Raceway.

"We don't have shops anymore. So we all go around the country selling at fairs.

"It's a lot of work and after it all you have to pack up and go home.

"It's a pity really, but that the way it is," he said.

Luckily, unlike the women who sell fine china, after 40 years in the silver-selling business Cambie can have his display set up or packed down in just a couple of hours.

"Those other ladies, it can take them six [hours]," he said.

Cambie's best customer of the weekend was the same best keen customer he gets every year, New Plymouth man Tim Ledingham, who bought several highly polished platters and serving dishes much older than himself for his 1930s villa.

"I like them because they have a history to them and because I have a house that has a history to it," he said.

As well as the silverware, Ledingham, who spent the entire weekend at the fair, bought a large sideboard and various other old items he thought would match his home.

Fair organiser Diane Akers said some people thought the fair was like a flea market.